"I want them to think that school is the coolest thing since Pokemon"

For the record, I read that quote in a Classroom Culture 101 packet tonight and laughed outloud. This lady wants them to crave school and to be begging for Saturday School. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that my kids probably don't know what Pokemon is....it hasn't reached Mo'head yet.

Anyway, put a check mark next to my first day of teaching, it's OVER! Phew...I was super excited this morning and stayed up wayyy too late last night finishing my agenda for the day and getting things ready. It went...okay. I'm not going to say it was great, they are in Kindergarten. The attention span of a 5 year old is literally 10 minutes, on a good day. I felt like I did a lot of yelling or had to raise my voice a lot. They haven't gathered the idea of not talking when they are not supposed to. Trust me, I was PLENTY stern today....hard for me to even believe it. That's probably another reason I don't feel like the day was phenomenal...I hate yelling. I know there are other ways to get kids to do what you want them to do, I just need to find those alternative methods. It will come...we spent a lot of time practicing how to make a straight line, how to walk in the hallways (one hand on your hip, the other on your lips), how to efficiently use the bathroom (and not play), how to move from the rug to our tables and so forth. We have yet to master how to get a drink without putting your mouth on the faucet and without getting water ALL over your shirt and ALL over your shorts. Oh well...it will come.

In fact, we even mastered the lunch line...the only person that got yelled at was me. Apparently, you are not supposed to pick up any of the silverware to see if there is a spoon....I guess you're just supposed to know? Whatev, the lunchlady isn't the nicest from what I heard, I think it goes with the job of wearing a hairnet. I would be a crab too.

Speaking of which...not really, but I needed a transition, we have hot water in our house YAYYYYY!!!! The landlord's mother lives behind us, we call her "Mama Free" (not to her face) as her son is Mr. Free, and she has been meeting with various people in our house during the day who come to do the inspection, hook up the gas, light the hot water heater, etc. She's a bit...odd, but it's nice she is there because we leave the house by 6:30 and aren't back until supper usually.

So...back to my class. Did I mention that I love my kids. I don't know why, but there is always one that you know is going to cause you stress, but that is the one you love the most. In Houston it was Marc Valdez, granted he wasn't paying attention unless he was HIGHLY engaged in the lesson, but you can't get over his minor speech impediment and the way he talks about loving "his kitties." This one is R'Vant...he is repeating Kindergarten and although I already know he is going to challenge me plenty this year, he is my favorite by far. Don't pick favorites, I know...but he is definitely a child that needs to be challenged both socially and academically.

All of my kids are great, they talk too much, but they are great. And I'm basically in love with my class list, mostly because of the names. Let's run through it (this is like my favorite thing to do!): Breanna, Cakiyah, Cordarius, Da'Janae, Invia, Ja'Khia, Jala, Janiya, Jaqualan, Jarrius, Kyra, Lamaurice, Lechedrique, LaVaunshe', Makayla, Marcus, Miracle, Phamous, R'Vant, Samara, Siseli, Sydney, and Tyler. Feel free to call me and guess how you pronounce some of these names, it's really fun actually! But most of them make perfect sense once you hear it. Anyway, they are great, they are all african american and cute as buttons, they wear school uniforms so you better believe that I stuck a nametag to each and everyone of them today, and they give me hugs even when I feel like I'm yelling at them.

Anyway, I'd better get going, I need to print out my agenda and get some sleep, 4 hours didn't do it for me. I sympathize for teachers, I didn't sit down at all today unless I was reading them a book or when we were eating lunch...in fact, I don't even have a chair at my desk yet...life would rock if I could wear flip flops to school! (PS, I take out my eyebrow ring at school....AND I have learned to put the ball back in the hoop myself...hallelujah!)

Peace, love and cypress...